Kumo, The Hidden Story
by CloudSpaWN
Summary: This is the first of a possible series. I wrote this a while ago, and if it gets any good reviews I might be encouraged to write further. Kumo is a ninja, that's something he knows. One of the few things he knows. A life left behind haunts his every dream, a face left behind that doesn't desist when the sun rises. Can unknown strangers help him, or make his life harder? Read on ;


I stumbled through the forest, battered and bleeding. The humidity was unbearable, and my eyes were stinging with dirt and sweat. My head was beating, I had no recollection of what happened. I kept running, despite the excrutiating pain my legs were feeling, with no idea why. All I knew was I had to run. I started running even faster, pushing myself to the breaking point, when I stumbled on a tree root, and cried out in pain as I landed on a jagged rock. My vision became faded and blurry, as dark figures jumped down and surrounded me, and then everything went black.  
I woke up in a cold, dark room. A light was hanging loosely above my unmanaged bed. I sat up, and looked around at myself, noticing some rough patchwork and bandages over many parts of my body. I was about to go back to sleep when I heard voices outside my room. I stepped closer to the door to get a better listen.  
"Well what CAN we do with him then Kakashi? We have NO background information, not to mention he was travelling with nothing but a kunai." said the first voice, a woman.  
"I don't expect you to - did you hear something?" whispered the man named Kakashi,  
They heard me. I bolted as fast as I could back to the bed, got under the sheets and froze.  
The door slowly opened, and the two walked into the room to either side of my bed.  
"Look, we know you're awake. We only want to help you." said Kakashi softly, "and by the way" He touched my wrist, "Your pulse is racing."  
Caught out, I opened my eyes slowly and the light engulfed my vision yet again.  
"There we go, sit up nice and easy" said the woman, "Now why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself."  
I opened my mouth, and struggled for words, but they didn't come out.  
"It's alright, don't worry about Anko, give it some time, you were badly injured but, sadly, we couldn't figure out how." said Kakashi, "It was lucky our ANBU Black ops team found you, or you might not be with us today."  
Kakashi gave me a long gaze. He looked in his thirties, with naturally white, medium length hair that spiked up at the top and sides. Most of his face was covered, and his headband passed over his left eye, which seemed terribly inconvenient. His gaze seemed almost piercing.  
"Kumo.." I said softly. "My name.. is Kumo.. "  
"There we go, wasn't so hard was it?" said the woman, "Told you he could talk to us Kakashi! Kakashi? What's wrong?"  
I looked up at Anko and she gave me a strange look. She had long black hair, going around her face and in a spiked 'fan' shape behind her head. She had clear, pale eyes and seemed in her early twenties.

Kakashi stared at me, examined my face, my eyes and my hair. It was as if I could feel his eye sweep across my face.  
"Kumo.. " He mumbled.  
He pulled up his headband, and I looked into his other eye. It was red, with a black shape of some sort on it. As soon as my eyes made contact with his, my head screamed out in pain, and it was all I could do to fall onto the floor, writhing in pain as the eye flashed through my mind, it was the only thing I could think about, and it forced a blinding pain into my head that I couldn't seem to get rid of.

"Kakashi what did you do?" I could hear Anko scream.  
"It's exactly what I thought. Find a medical ninja NOW, he needs immediate attention!" said Kakashi.  
The screaming in my head died down, and I started to pass out again.

I felt a sense of De Ja Vu as I woke up again, the same blur, the same groginess, but different people. Strange people, people I'd never met. But then again, I felt like I knew no-one, not even myself. There were a strange number of people there, but most noticably the two girls shoving each other on one side of my bed, a beautiful blonde girl, and an equally attractive pink haired girl, with a noticably large forehead.  
A fit, black haired boy came up to them and stopped them.  
"Why are you two behaving like three year olds? Do you not understand how rude it is not only to one another, but also to your patient, who, if you have not noticed, has awaken?" He said breathlessly.  
"HE'S AWAKE!?" They both screamed.  
"Yes but I do not think that is the point.. " The boy continued.  
"Hi, I'm Ino Yamanaka, and I'm the lovely medical kunoichi who has tended you through your tough times!" she introduced.  
"HEY! IT'S NOT LIKE YOU DID IT ALONE YA KNOW! Umm, right I'm Sakura Haruno, and believe me, I did all the work."  
"Oh yeah?"  
"YEAH!"  
"Okay OKAY THAT'S ENOUGH!" Yelled an older blonde woman, "Give the boy some space and clear out, NOW!"  
"Yes ma'am!" They both ran out, still pushing and shoving.

She continued to clear everybody out, and only some of the noticably older people stayed.  
"How are you feeling?" She asked.  
"Pretty good actually, thanks." I responded  
"Sorry for.. those two. They can get really rediculous at times." She said, shaking her head.  
I looked around the room. Besides her, there were five other people. Kakashi and Anko were there, and one by one they introduced themselves. There was a man named Asuma, with short, dark hair, quite a lot of facial hair and a cigerette hanging loosely between his teeth, a woman name Kurenai, with dark, slightly curled hair flowing down her neck, and another man who looked exactly like the boy I had seen earlier.

"Might Guy, at your service." He said with a wink.  
"You know, you look an awful lot like.. " I started.  
"Like Lee? Why of course, we are student and teacher, pupil and master, and personal training buddies! Why, if I lost Lee, I, I.." His eyes started to water.  
"Get him out of here please" said Tsunade, rolling her eyes.  
Asuma led him out into the corridor.  
"Now, I think we need to talk." Tsunade said strongly.  
"Okay, fair enough, what's on your mind?" I said with a smile.  
This seemed to unnerve her, and she continued.  
"I'd like to know where you came from, and where you got those injuries." She said.  
"Yeah, so would I." I responded.  
"You mean you have no clue? Whatsoever?" She asked.  
"No." I said blankly.

Kakashi walked up to my bedside, and started talking to Tsunade. According to their research, I had lost my memory in some sort of accident, and that's all they would say. They gave me no details that might have helped me even slightly, but when everyone left, Kakashi stayed behind.  
"Kumo, I need to talk to you. Your past, I can't tell you about, but I can tell you how it started." He said.  
I looked at him, and began to listen intently.  
"I've found records of a boy who went missing only a few days old, many years ago. Kumo, it was you. You were taken by ninja who raided the village, and no more was seen of you again. Until yesterday. This is why we need to know what happened, and we believe a man named Orochimaru was behind it."  
"Orochimaru.. " I whispered. The name seemed vaguely familiar.  
"There's one more thing. Your clan, was almost entirely wiped out. Your existance was known only to the hokage, and a deal was made with your mother to keep it a secret, as so not to unnerve anyone, especially your father. You were born an Uchiha."

He stopped to let me contemplate what I had just taken in, but truth be told I had no idea what he was even talking about. He ended with a simple 'get well' and 'stay and rest', so naturally I started out the door.

The strange black haired boy was standing right at the entrance with a beaming smile on his face.  
"I am Rock Lee, and I am very pleased to meet you!" He said enthusiastically.  
"Umm, Kumo, thanks" I replied.  
With that, he took my hand, I looked down, and realised what was going on.

Right then, Lee started running full speed down the corridor, dragging me behind.  
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" I screamed, trying to keep up the running.  
"I believe the best way to bond with someone, is through vigorous training!" He shouted back.  
We passed Kakashi, who was walking down the street.  
"Poor kid" He mumbled.  
"Let us continue our TRAINING!" Yelled Lee with excitement.  
I could barely keep up, but I managed to pick up and slip a rock into Lee's hand in place of my own, and collapsed on the ground. Lee continued running, shouting something about never giving up no matter what.  
I laid there, face in the dirt, and tried to catch back my breath.

I was sitting in the corner of a dark room, completely alone. The only light was coming from a steel door, the bars in the centre the only relief from the cold of the darkness. I heard footsteps approaching, and as the door opened, I looked down. I knew who it was,  
"Now now," Said the boy with glasses, "We wouldn't want to displease Lord Orochimaru, would we?"  
I slowly shook my head, and he pulled me up.  
"Now come on you little weasel, we have some tests to do." He spat out.  
He led my down a dimly lit hallway, past other rooms, where I could hear other people moaning, and sometimes growling. Men, woman and children, he didn't discriminate. I felt such sympathy toward them all. We approached the end of the hallway to a metal bolted door. I savoured the last few seconds outside the room.

I tried to move, but I couldn't. Crows were flying everywhere, scratching me, cutting me, blotting out any vision I had. Their cawing, the constant pain and noise, the needles, it was completely unbearable. I screamed out, again and again, and then it stopped.

I sat up in my bed, waking in a cold sweat. I was panting as if I had run a marathon, which it felt like I did. I rushed over to the sink, turned on the tap and splashed my face, trying to wash back the flashes of memory burning my mind. I pulled apart the curtains, and warm light flooded the room. As I tried to slow me breathing, I heard a knocking at the door.  
"Hello? Kumo are you there?" I heard a voice faintly.  
I coughed. "Yeah, yeah I'm here" I said as I walked across the room to open the door.

Opening the door, I saw the pink haired girl again.  
"Sakura, wasn't it?" I asked.  
"Yes, that's right!" She started, "How are you liking your apartment?"  
I looked around at the fairly small room that had been assigned to me the previous day. Besides the bed, there was a bathroom and a small area for the fridge, along with a window above the sink. I turned back, the light still hurt my eyes.  
"It's uhh, it's great, thanks" I said.  
"You look like you're really sick! Maybe I should tell Kakashi you can't make it." She said.  
"Tell Kakashi I can't make what?" I asked, "I'm perfecty fine, just a.. just a nightmare."  
"Oh, well okay, if you say so. Kakashi wants to see you, he's at Ichiraku Ramen, just down the street. You can't walk by the smell!" She beamed.  
"Alright, but can I ask, what are you so happy about?" I asked.  
"Oh nothing really, just an old friend who was away a long time is returning today! He's a little immature, but who knows, maybe it left over time" She smiled.  
She left down the hallway, and I went to get dressed. As I was shaving, I looked into the mirror. At this moment, I was confused and amazed. Never before had I seen myself, I'd never been able to. I was a complete stranger. I'd never noticed how my hair grew, it was black, and spiked to the side in big bunches, and down the side of my face. I had dark blue eyes, and fairly small ears, of what I could see.  
I started down the street, and realised Sakura was right. I could smell something very inviting, and I really couldn't wait to try out their ramen. I got to the store and pushed aside the hanging flaps with the name, and saw Kakashi sitting on one of the stools.  
"Hey, Kumo, take a seat, breakfasts on me." He said as he noticed me. I said thanks, and took a seat next to his.  
As the ramen was served, the smell was intoxicating, and I grabbed some chopsticks and began chowing down. I didn't realize how rediculously starving I was until that moment. Kakashi began talking again.  
"Woah, careful there, you don't want to get a stomach ache from eating too fast," He said with a look of astonishment on his face, "You remind me of Naruto, he should be back today you know"  
I stopped eating for a brief moment.  
"Oh, that must be who Sakura was excited to see again," I said.  
"Yeah that'd be him, I think you two would get along well," He said with faint discomfort.  
I finished my third bowl of ramen, and Kakashi stopped me.  
"I said I'd treat you, but I ain't rich you know." He said, "Now let's get down to business."  
"Business?" I asked with a strange look.  
"Of course, you're a ninja, aren't you? Why else would you be travelling with a kunai?" He concluded.  
He led me to a training room of some sort, and laid out a bag of weapons onto the floor.  
"Pick what feels comfortable" He said, smiling.  
I browsed through the assortment of objects spread out on the floor. I picked a scimitar off the floor, and tried swinging it around. Definately not my style. I struggled to pick up a huge broadsword, no way in hell would I be able to swing that around. I continued looking around, trying different things, but nothing felt right.

"Okay, well those are fairly basic equipment, I was hoping you'd find something there, they're the easier set to learn with." said Kakashi, "But I have a few more, although they're a lot more advanced"

He went to a steel cupboard, and grabbed out a few more weapons. I picked up a four way bladed staff, which I struggled to control. I tried out some more confusing weapons, and I finally found something that felt right. They were two amazingly detailed blades, rounded to one side like a scythe but smaller, blunt on the inside curve and sharp on the outside. They were connected to a near two metre long light chain, and a comfortable leather handle at the end, moulded to your hand. I picked them up and swung them around, they felt perfect.  
"How unusual.." Kakashi started, "What made you pick that set? They're a highly advanced set of utility blades, meant for disabling and disorienting."  
"They just.. felt right." I said simply.  
"Alright," He responded, "Let's see if you can use them."

At that moment, he picked up a kunai and threw it a little to the left of me. I flicked up my right blade and pulled it back, sending the kunai flying into the far wall. Kakashi came at me with a sword. I stepped back to avoid his first swing, and swung my blades under his feet. He jumped up at a speed I didn't expect, and the sword was at my throat.  
"Amazing, for your first time. If it is your first time. I mean of course, you do need some work but, this is a great start" He said as he released me, "I'd like to see you here again tomorrow, you need some training with those blades, it's not something you can master in a day, natural talent or not."  
I nodded, and we left the room.

Over the next few days, Kakashi taught me a lot about the Kusari Ken, the proper holding positions, how to swing to kill, or to disable, how to disarm foes of various stature and weaponry. There was so much more to simply a weapon that I had even begun to imagine. The training was extremely tiring, and in fact, secret. Kakashi had warned me to keep this strictly between us, that hopefully I may regain some memory, but by the way he went about teaching me, I think he was having a good time himself.  
Standing in the middle of a field, adrenaline coursing through my veins, I brush away the blood seeping from a cut in my cheek. It was impossible to tell how many men were standing around me, dirty, malevolent, each one carrying some sort of crude weapon. Thunder strikes, and the rain pours down even harder, blocking vision past a few metres. The many faces looked somewhat happy with the result of their surround, and one man spoke out above the crowd.  
"Now where have you got to run, chicken-boy?" He laughs, "A little freak like you needs to be ten feet underground!"  
I smile.

Almost everything became a blur, as I threw something sharp at his neck, and watch as he choked on his own blood. That set the rest in motion. All men from every angle come rushing in, yelling as loud as they could above the rain. I start to laugh. In half a second, I'm outside the circle, and I turn around to notice the falling bodies of the men in my way. I pull out some small blades, each hanging loosely from a toughened rope. I dash through the crowd, dancing backwards and forwards, dodging, jumping, slicing. In a matter of moments, I stood alone in the centre of a mass of lifeless corpses, and I hear a faint clapping.  
"Well done, I must say," says Orochimaru, approaching with a sick smile, "I knew those men couldn't really do anything, but they were really just wasting space"  
I don't say anything. I don't have to.  
"Yes yes, well, I guess that can be considered fair enough, you must be freezing boy." He laughs, as he pulls up a small glowing stick, "Brace yourself boy"  
I knew what was about to come. Just as he presses the button, I have enough time to knock it out of his hands, but the red light explodes everywhere, blinding me, ringing my ears so loud I could no longer hear the howling wind or the pouring rain.  
Blinded, I pick myself up off the ground, and start running, crashing into trees, still barely conscious. I flick up my arms, and feel the wind and the rain rushing through my hair, the occasional thud of my arms destroying tree trunks. All I knew was I had to run. I had to leave this place. After a few minutes have passed, I forget why I'm running. What was I doing? I didn't stop, trusting that I must have had good reason. I start to slip into unconsciousness, as the thudding turns into knocking, and I open my eyes into consciousness.  
I walk shakily to my door to see Sakura once again, steaming with fury. She hands me a note, and starts storming down the hallway, and I quickly catch up to her.  
"It might just be me, but you seem a little.. upset?" I ask nervously.  
"I HATE NARUTO!" she screams as she thunders on. I could have sworn I saw birds take off.  
Wasn't Naruto the person she was excited to see? Ignoring that strange moment, I walk back to my room lay on my bed. I unfold the note to read, "Meet me down by the river late noon, east side. I have something important that we need to see to."  
I shrug, have a quick breakfast of noodles in a cup, which I'd grown rather fond of lately, and fall asleep for another few hours. Even though I'm not awake at nights, I always wake up feeling sleepless, as if every hour I spend asleep is drained from my body.  
After knocking my alarm off if the bedside table, I get dressed and head down to the river to see what Kakashi wanted to talk about. It was a clear summer day, with a cool, easterly wind sweeping across the village. The river sparkled like precious gems as it flowed onwards, out of sight. Kakashi sat on a rock, holding a small sack in his left hand, his right hand propping up his head.  
"Finally you're here," he says, "I was beginning to think you wouln't show up"  
"I'm sorry, I just fell asleep, I was having nightmares again, and I could hardly keep my eyes open in the morning" I responded, rubbing my eyes for effect.  
He fondles the leather bag around in his hand, before finally opening it, pulling out a small rectangle of paper, no larger than my hand.  
"This is a special kind of paper, that comes from a tree infused with chakra. It reacts to the slightest change in chakra, which lets us recognize which affinity of chakra a person is." He says boringly, "And all I want you to do, is to hold it in your hand, and infuse your chakra"  
I could remember the basics of chakra control, and as I infused my chakra into the strange paper, it split in half and began to crumble to the ground. Kakashi looked stunned, as if this was a huge surprise to him.  
"Is something wrong?" I ask anxiously.  
"No, it's just very irregular for a member of the Uchiha clan to be of a Wind nature, and even more surprising, the paper crumbled" He said curiously, "That defines you as Earth, as well. There doesn't seem to be a trace of fire in your chakra system, like other Uchihas, and for you to be showing signs of two natures at this stage is unheard of."  
This sets me a little on edge.  
"Does that mean something's wrong?" I ask nervously.  
"Haha, no not at all, in fact I'm pretty sure it's a good thing," He smiled, "For your chakra to be so far developed at this age, seems.. " His voice broke off, and his face went grim.  
"Seems.. " I repeat, almost afraid of his answer.  
"Unnatural" He said, and his face turned dead serious. It was as if every cricket nearby stopped chirping.  
I looked down, I really was a freak. I try to remember my dream, but all that comes pouring into my head is pain, and I force my hands over my ears to try and stop it, and it started to settle down.  
"That's not a good idea" says Kakashi quietly. I look at him, puzzled.  
"Trying to remember, " he continued, "It won't come back to you without a trigger, you'll only feel pain. What they've done to you, I'm not entirely sure it can be erased, let alone what 'it' is."  
I can only manage a faint smile, who did he mean by they? His face told me he knows, but his lips said nothing. I didn't ask, I'd assumed it would only pain me to know it at this point in time.  
"Well," He said, as he forced a smile, "I think we can work on your chakra another time, but it's at least good to know what you are"  
What I am. I know he means chakra, but I seemed to take it a little deeper. Who, what am I? Nothing comes to mind but my name. My name, my only identification. I'm very grateful to Kakashi, for helping me on his own time, and he seems just as anxious as I am to find the answers to the questions that bored so deeply into my mind. I fiddle with the Kusari Ken at my side, which Kakashi had generously given to me. Kakashi breaks the silence.  
"Well, I have a fair bit of business to attend to, I'll see you around Kumo."  
He jumps off without a sound, and I lie back in the warm, comfortable grass, dangling my feet in the cool, crystal clear river.

Over the past few nights I had been having similar dreams, dreams of killing, of crows and of pain. Dreams that seem so real, yet always ended with my awakening, the pain that burned so deep but never scarred. I was unable to fully remember them, but could never get them out of my mind.  
I was standing a few feet from Kakashi, in the small training room we've always worked in.  
"Alright, now I want you to put everything together, give it all you've got!" He says.  
He's been teaching me how to properly infuse my chakra, which I found somewhat easy, but that wasn't that hard part. I'd been struggling with trying to bring out and infuse my chakra nature, and because I have two, it was especially difficult. According to Kakashi though, I was making more progress than he had after months of training, in just a few short days. It consumed so much time and energy, and I still hadn't recieved many results trying to infuse them both together. Alone, they were difficult, but not impossible. Together, they just seemed to want me to fail.  
I bring my hands together twice and murmered 'Inu Mi' as I remembered my signs, and force as much energy and strength as I dare into them. A strange, powerful yet draining sensation ran through my veins, and I took a deep breath as I looked at Kakashi's face. Complete horror.  
Had I done it? Was it enough? Kakashi didn't say a word, only stared. I was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Until I looked at my arms, and it made sense.  
My arms were no longer my arms, they were covered in shiny black, refined feathers, sweeping backwards as if some sort of blade. Each one was sharper than any kunai I had seen, and as I went to touch it, I noticed that my hands were also black, and hard as diamond, curved into sharp talons, but still somewhat managable. I picked a feather from my arm, and examined it, as another quickly took it's place.  
Kakashi walked over to me, and I took a step back as he pulled out his kunai.  
"Relax," He said, as he wiped, or more like scraped it across my shoulder, and showed me the results. There were scratches and dents all over the kunai where before it was smooth and perfected. He refrained from touching it himself, for fear the same would happen to him, but my 'talons' handled them perfectly fine. I took off my shirt to see the darkness going little past my shoulder, and starting again at my hips.  
This was when I noticed the claws on my feet. These were similar to my hands, but larger, and looked incredibly deadly. I was both afraid, and amazed at the same time. My legs were free of feathers but also very hard, and bumpy to the touch. As I ran my fingers up my legs, another strange thought came to my mind, but I waved it aside.  
"This is astonishing" He says, "I've never seen anything like this before in my life. My guess is some sort of kekai genkai, activated by your chakra infusing.. "  
He seemed to lose himself in thought, mumbling things I could hardly hear, and as I started to relax, the darkness began to retract and I was back to normal. I still can't place in my mind how I felt about the whole experience. Was I some sort of freak? No, it won't do to think like that, I barely know what it is. I'll leave the thinking to Kakashi.  
His face was expressionless, as he usually was, and he dismissed me, with only the words, "Keep this to yourself", and a wave of his hand to the door.  
I was laying my bed, wondering, with a hint of anger why he chose not to say anything more. How can he continue to keep me in the dark about myself? Why would he not want me to know? To protect me? If so, from what?  
All these questions boiled in my mind, each one contradicting another, raising new unanswerable questions that I could never get out of my mind.  
Knocking at the door gave me a second of peace from myself, and in walked a woman I had seen before. It was the dark haired lady from the hospital, Kurenai. She walked in and sat on the end of my bed, bringing in a faint scent of roses. She looked at me and smiled.  
"Kakashi wants me to show you how to control genjutsu," She said gently, "Not many people can perform genjutsu, you know. He thinks you have great promise."  
I breathe out a laugh, and let her lead me to a large open doored room of hers, on the outskirts of Konahagakure. It was wonderfully clean, with sunlight pouring in through windows on every side, and a faint glow through the light wood serving as a roof.  
Kurenai brings up her hands into a few swift hand signs, and then begins to dematerialise into flower petals, and they fly around with the wind, sparkling in the sunlight. I looked around, and the flowers begin to take her shape and colour on the other side of the room. She smiled, and asked, "Do you know what Genjutsu is?"  
I slowly shake my head, if I once did know, I couldn't remember it now.  
"Genjutsu is created when a ninja extends their chakra flow through the cerebral nervous system of their opponent to control their minds chakra, thereby affecting their five senses. In this case, I made it appear to you that I disappeared, and then reappeared over here, by affecting your vision. Genjutsu can be used to attack any chosen sense, you could make them smell something, hear, taste or even feel. Are you following?"  
I nod my head. This was genuinely interesting to me.  
She continues, "To combat the effects of Genjutsu, there are two options. The first option is for the ninja to stop the flow of chakra in their body, and then apply an even stronger power to disrupt the flow of the casters chakra. The second option is to have an outside ninja unaffected by the Genjutsu make body contact, and use their chakra to disrupt the casters flow. In this way, you can regain your senses, unaffected by their chakra flow, or their will."  
All this talk about chakra flow was beginning to make my head spin. She calls me to her, and asks me to try and disrupt her chakra flow. I pull up my hands into a tiger seal, and without even really understanding how it works, try to force my chakra upon her.  
She shakes her head, "No, you're trying too hard. It sounds rediculous to try too hard but with genjutsu you need to relax. Small mistakes almost completely fail the jutsu you're trying to perform. Remember, genjutsu can really become anything you want it to."  
I nod, and try to relax. I smile, and have a funny thought. Almost instinctively my hand changes to a serpent seal, and I gently push my chakra through her system, I can almost feel it.  
She looks around, up and down, and smiles.  
"Well done, I saw leaves flying around me, if that's what you were -" She was cut off and ran to the door where Kakashi was crawling, blood and kunai ridden throughout his entire body. She gave a slight shreik and tried to pick him up, but I retracted my jutsu, and she realized what had happened as Kakashi began to disappear.  
She looked at me angrily, then she began to calm down, congratulated me dryly and left. Did I upset her? I went to the door to see where she went but she was gone. I frowned, do I just make people angry?  
The sun was beginning to set over the mountains, and relieve Konahagakure of it's warm embrace, to the cooling chill of night. I began walking home, both looking forward to and fearing another sleepless night, when something I come across makes me smile. The smell of Ichiraku ramen was enough for me to forget about the daunting apartment complex, and I half jogged around to corner and stopped outside, admiring the scent. I lifted two flaps with my arm and took a step inside the small shop.  
About to take a seat, I noticed Kakashi engaged in a fairly one way conversation with a spiky yellow haired boy, chowing down on the ramen like his life was depending on it. Kakashi sighs, and notices me as he gives up talking.  
"Oh, hi Kumo, sorry I haven't been in touch but I've had some important things to do. I hope you and Kurenai got along well" He says with a smile.  
I try to return with a laugh, but it sounds half hearted and the smile I give feels indefinately fake.  
"Oh well," says Kakashi, "Not too many do seem to get on her good side right away. But she's the best gejutsu teacher we've got here."  
I look at the boy, completely oblivious to the conversation, on his fourth bowl of ramen. My gut tells me to the same, so I raise my hand and Ayame brings me a bowl of what I usually order.  
"Well how are you Kumo?" She says with a beaming smile.  
"Oh I'm fine, thanks for the ramen" I say.  
Teuchi laughs from the stove pots at the back. "It's those guys who keep this place running!"  
I have to somewhat laugh and agree, I've spent a lot of time and money here.  
At this point, the boy raises his head and finally notices me. He gives me a big noodly smile and tries to talk and eat at the same time.  
"Hi, I'b Baruon ubsulaki," He swallows, "I'm Naruto, I haven't seen you around here before!"  
I give a light smile, and continue eating. I feel his eyes staring at me quizically, from the side, so I turn to meet his gaze again.  
"You must be Kumo. A lot of people are talking about you" he says. I frown. Kakashi puts his head in his hand. Naruto realizes what he said.  
"Oh, no, not like, I meant, people are, as in-" He begins, and Kakashi cuts him off.  
"That's enough now Naruto, give it a rest. Kumo recently moved here, and he's staying in the apartment next to yours." he says. My heart somewhat drops. Was that really necessary?  
"Oh great! Did you move here with your family? Where did you come from?" I look down.  
These questions have been in my head for as long as I could remember. Apparently my family had died. Where did I come from?  
"Gee, he doesn't talk much does he?" He asks Kakashi.  
"You're asking personal questions that he might not want to talk about Naruto, you should-"  
I stop him.  
"I have no family, and I don't know where I come from." I say. This kid is a little too friendly, which I'm finding annoying. I try to forgive him though, I really was the talk of the town. The mysterious boy who showed up out of no-where, with nothing to say. I've been named a spy, a weirdo and somehow word of my transformation got out. Apparently a janitor saw it, and now most of the town stare as I go anywhere, expressions of fear and spite ridden across their faces.  
I leave the money for the ramen on the bench and start to head home, and I sigh as I hear Naruto calling for me to wait. He catches up and begins to apoligise. I hear sincerity in his voice, and he tells me about his life, how he's always struggled to make friends and how the town hated him for being a Jinchuriki, feared him even. I never would have guessed on my own, he'd made a lot of friends in this place, and I felt a sort of respect that I wouldn't have seen in the goofy kid. We part ways and I go straight to bed, falling asleep faster than I'd ever remembered doing so before.  
Over the few short weeks to pass, I'd made a few acquaintances and learned a lot from Kakashi and the other sensai, yet never had I ever felt like I belonged. Almost everyone in town knew one another, gave each other smiles, and although I was no longer treated as if I were a menace to society, I felt I was being tolerated, not accepted. I knew Kakashi was aware of this. He tried harder each day to prevent the inevitable, but we both knew what was imminent. I had to leave.  
Kakashi's voice swayed in the light breeze, and I turned my head to see him sitting on the log that I lay by. The field was empty but the two of us.  
"Kumo, I'm not going to try and stop you. I've learned not too long ago that it can't be done." He said quietly, "So there's one thing more I want to show you. I was hoping to leave this out of question for a while but I see that won't be the case."  
I could see him playing around with a kunai, and he threw it in the air directly above me. I took this as a playful joke, and wrapped my hand around my right blade handle, but I jumped out of the way with extreme force as I saw it speeding down with a blue flare.  
Landing on the far side of the field, I coughed as my body adjusted to the sudden change in motion. Kakashi was speeding down the field, throwing kunai after kunai at extreme speed, and the force was enough to knock my blades aside with but a slight course change. What was he thinking? Was he eliminating a threat he saw to the village? Or one that might one day be? One hit from those blades and I was done for. I matched his speed, and dodged one after the other, jumping left and right, and stopped as Kakashi did. He raised his hands, and I froze as kunai came flying past me from behind, milimetres from my skin, slowed down and fell into his weapons bag.  
Kakashi fell onto his hands and knees, and I cautiously dashed over to his side. It was risky, but he was geniunely exhausted, and burns ran in unpatterned shapes up and down his arms. I helped him up, and he gave a pained laugh that sounded as if he were choking. I proc him up against the log, he was in a bad way.  
"I'll go get help," I began, "I'll bring some medics over-" Kakashi cut me off with a cough and a wave of his hand.  
"I'll be fine, trust me, I just wanted to.. to show you something."  
Show me something? By something did he mean the light at the end of the tunnel? I begin to question what he was doing, but I hold my tongue as he stands up and pulls out a kunai. He was in no condition to finish me off, so I put aside a few anxious worries.  
"I wanted to show you how to control a weapon using your chakra," He said, "It gives you unmatched speed and power, not to mention the control you can gain." I remember the kunai flying back to him.  
"You're already very skilled in the Kusari Ken, and I couldn't hope to be as good as you are now, but even so, infusing chakra into your weapons gives you quicker responses, recoveries from deflections and blocks, and of course, a lot of power." He says tiredly.  
I shake my head. "But what you just did then, isn't that straining? You look completely exhausted, you look as if you have barely any chakra remaining at all."  
He looks at me intensely, and begins to walk into the woods. I jog to catch up, but he seems intent on going deeper into the forest. After what seems like an hour, we stop at a small clearing. A small metal building resided off to one side, and a chubby bearded man notices us and begins to walk over with his eyes beaming and his arms wide. He bear hugs Kakashi, and I can't help but laugh a little.  
"Kakashi!" He exclaims gruffly, "It's been a while my friend it has! Why I've barely seen anyone at all since the last batch of ANBU recruits took a tour!"  
ANBU recruits? Where has Kakashi taken me?  
"Haha, yeah, it uh, it has been a while hasn't it Mitchell?" He says, a cheeks reddening.  
Mitchell wipes some grease from his forehead, and sticks out his sweaty hand, which I reluctantly shake.  
"Well who's this young sprout here huh? Come for a tour have we?" He smiles.  
"This is a friend of mine, Kumo, and no. We're here for the real thing, I'm afraid." Kakashi says.  
Mitchell's face darkens a little. "Well then, we'd best get started I guess."  
I was still completely clueless as to what was happening, until he led us through the iron doors into a dusty, smelly workshop where Kakashi snatched up my blades, and before I could protest Mitchell began carving into it with a small intricate knife, spelling out my name as he copied it from a sheet of paper Kakashi had handed him. He repeated on the other blade and ushered me closer.  
"Mitchell here has been a close friend of mine Kumo, and what he's doing for you will help you for a long time to come." says Kakashi, "Once this process is complete, it will take less than a tenth of the amount of chakra to do what I did earlier. These blades will be forever yours, and no amount of force will ever allow them to work for another."  
I tried to clear my mind and think of the possibilities opening up but my thoughts were cut off by a hearty laugh from Mitchell.  
"Give him the ol' scare tactic did ya Kakashi?" He says with a smile. I frown.  
"Let's just get this over with," I say.  
He begins to pour from a rusty brass kettle a sort of powder into the crevices of the cuts he made earlier into the steel. The seem to glow eerily with a faint lucency, and he directs my hands to the handles, where they both seem to be waiting for me. I realize what I was supossed to do.  
I began to infuse my chakra into the Kusari Ken, and it seemed to exhaust me almost immediately, and a sudden wave of pain hit me, and left just as fast. I stood amazed as the powder burst into flames and burned continuously with a bright blue light, eluminating the workshop. I took my hands off of them, and the flame died as quickly as it had ignited.  
"Beautiful, isn't it." says Mitchell with a sigh, "Now try it again. No need for chakra powder."  
I infused my chakra into the blade, and I realized how easy it had become. They ignited almost at my touch, and I couldn't help but smile with awe. The flames were lightly flaring around my hands, but they remained unburnt, licking at parts along the black chains, and left them unscathed. I thanked Mitchell with as much gratitude as I could muster, which apparently was no more than a simple 'Thanks' and a laugh, we said our goodbyes, and I started walking back with Kakashi.  
"I guess there isn't much more to say Kumo," Kakashi says quietly, "There's nothing left for you here. I know what you're feeling."  
He was right, there was nothing left for me, nothing to fill my desire of self discovery. To learn who I am. But I owe so much to Kakashi, he has sacrificed so much to teach me, and I have given him nothing in return. He seemed to pick up on what I was feeling, and began talking again.  
"I haven't met anyone like you in quite a while kid, I want you to keep up your training without me, and I want you to promise me that you'll find whatever it is you're hoping to find out there."  
After picking up a small bag of belongings, we walk to the city gates, and I turn and bow to Kakashi. He bows in return.  
"Thankyou, for everything, " I say as I adjust the bagstrap, "I will."  
I turn, and take my first step outside the city walls, staring into the deep orange sunset. I felt free.


End file.
